mattytowel

My scout group has lost it's regular volunteer for towing our trailer to camp, but you can't blame the guy for being 75 and not wanting a Chelsea tractor. I could add a towbar and electrics to my wife's Rapid, and be sensible about not over packing the trailer, but the car is now at 9 years and 135000 miles, and I wonder how long it will last. It was serviced by the main dealer for 8 years and 130000 miles, and it's just passed it's MOT with advisories for pitted brake discs, so it is looking to be in good shape. What mileages have you got on yours, or did you get, and what failed in the end that wasn't worth fixing? Thanks in advance

That's the difference between what I thought happened, and what I observed when deliberately paying attention. It idles at around 700 and 800 rpm, I've tried resetting the ECU by unplugging its fuse for some hours but it hasn't changed anything that I am aware of. It was worth considering, we will learn to live with how it behaves. Thank you all for your input.

Thanks for your thoughts, here's what I've found on a flat empty road when the car had warmed up. Trundling along at 30mph in 4th gear, take foot off the pedal, it slows to between 20 and 25mph and continues at that. Trundling along at 15mph in 4th gear, take foot off the pedal, it speeds up to between 20 and 25mph and continues at that. Trundling along at 20mph in (it was either 2nd or 3rd) gear, take foot off the pedal, it slows to about 15mph and continues at that. When I take the foot off, then the instantaneous mpg use jumps to 200 mpg, then '----' then levels off at 60 to 70 mpg or so, so it is still deliberately fuelling Both my wife and I are sometimes dropping down a gear to aid slowing without applying brakes. I think tomorrow (if it's dry out) I will look to see what sort of accelerator pedal position sensor it has, and what the outputs are.

Thanks JR, I'll check that when I'm out next,but I think it does go to 199mpg. Wouldn't the butterfly also close, creating the partial vacuum and making it harder for the engine to run and so it slows down?

Hello This is our first diesel car, so what I'm about to describe might be normal, but my wife and I find it unsettling. When we are out and about, say doing 30mph in 3rd or 4th, we can take our foot off the throttle and the car continues at 30mph. I haven't yet worked out if it is related to being warmed up if it's the same in each gear or what. My wife actually reckons that when she takes her foot off the pedal it speeds up a little and then slows down slowly. I've read that engine braking isn't as significant with diesels but I'd have expected some, but changing gear or going into neutral helps. The car has done about 130000miles, apart from the above it drives alright. We've had it two months, it has been regularly serviced at garages, and we bought it from friends who had it from new. I went from Manchester to Portsmouth and back with no issues and got 13miles per litre, which I was pleased about. The previous owners had averaged 20 to 25 thousand miles a year (motorway work trips) till the start of Covid, then under 10 thousand a year (mosty urban) since then. It idles at under 1000 rpm, I can check exactly when I next use it. I wonder if: the TPS or a pedal sensor is an on-off switch that isn't recognising that the throttle is closed / foot off the pedal the throttle body or something else is all gummed up and isn't closing properly something has been tweaked in the engine management settings I look forward to getting some pointers, thanks in advance.

The car I bought can't be unlocked or locked using the key in the driver's side door. There's no central locking, so I unlock the passenger side, lean over and pull the handle on the drivers side, walk round and get it. When I get to my destination I either unlock the rear drivers side door or use the front passenger side and lock the drivers door from inside then lock whatever doors remain. It is a faff. The haynes manual says to remove one and loosen one Torx screw that holds the lock cylinder in place whilst holding the handle out. Done that. Then it says to pull the lock cylinder out, but it won't come. I have sparyed it with penetrating oil, so maybe tomorrow it will be better. If it still doesn't come, if I remove the inner liner will I be able to get access to push the lock cylinder out from the inside? Is a faulty lock barrel likely, and if it is can I swap it from the drivers side to the passenger's side to reduce the inconvenience?

That was a job and a half! However I do now have an MOT certificate. The bit that made it most difficult was my own laziness. The instructions from powerflex said to use soap to aid the fitting of the bush carrier, but there was none in the kitchen, so I used washing up liquid, and ended up having to use a sash clamp and a brass bar to push it in. When I did the other side I went to the bathroom for the soap, and it popped in by hand

My car failed it's MOT today because of the rubber bushes in the console. The inspector warned me that if I did the job myself, that the threads often strip, (like all the above posters said), but said the bolt that Skoda fitted doesn't use all the available threads anyway, and if I stripped it I could put it back together with a longer bolt (8 threads longer he said). I'm fitting poly bushes tomorrow, well that's the plan. I hope it stays dry, and warm would be nice too.

My Fabia failed it's MOT today because of the front suspension arm rear bushes, but the inspector said the front ones were OK. The MOT inspector suggested that if I wanted to replace them with the bracketry in situ I use poly bushes, and gave me a number for Flo-Flex. I had a pig of a job when I tried to replace the bushes on a wish-bone on a Volvo - I couldn't press the new ones in, and had to buy a new wishbone. Flow-Flex poly bushes had poor reviews, but on this forum someone said Powerflex were good, and, even better, Awesome gti are only 10 miles from me and open tomorrow. Given that I'll be changing a flexible rubber bush for a less flexible polyurethane bush, should I change the front ones anyway to try and keep the axis of rotation consistent. It'd be an extra £45 and whatever extra time it takes? If so then within 2 weeks of buying the car I will have spent nearly as much again on parts and consumables (Battery £43, reverse light switch £14, Fuses £2, Console bushes £60, wishbone bushes £42, wiper blades, new coolant reservoir, G13 coolant, engine oil flush, filter, oil.)

There was a barely visible T in the corner of the gasket. The biggest problem today was that the car wouldn't start - flat battery, but it drove to my house OK 36 hours previously. I've charged the battery today, and took the opportunity to clean the car and pump up the tyres. It started OK this evening, so I'll see how it is in the morning, doing voltage check before turning the key.

I bought a cheap high mileage Fabia 2 days ago, unseen. I also have the coolant temperature alarm, when the car is cold, and this in the coolant header tank. From what I've read so far, it could be head gasket failure, previous owner mixing different types of coolant or contamination from oil dripping onto a hose somewhere and soaking through. I've got a long journey to make on Monday, so would like to do some initial cheap fixes this weekend if possible. There's no sign of mayonaise in the oil filler cap or dip stick. I'm currently planning on an oil and filter change today (Saturday) but if there is anything else to get from Eurocarparts or GSF this morning I'd be glad of the advice. Unfortunately I can't run a hose out to the drive, so any flushing would be by clean watering can. Thanks in advance. Matthew

Hello all. Yesterday I bought a very cheap high mileage Fabia off the bay. This will be the first car registered in my name - all previous cars that I had a lot to do with have been my wife's, my parent's, or for two years back in the 90's a company Mondeo. I've got a car because I changed jobs and they don't grit the roads in Derbyshire, where my new job is, to the same extent that they grit the M62, which I used to commute on, and I don't like falling off my motorbike. I am keeping the bike, I am 1.95m tall and it's got all the headroom I need, and it's more fun than any car I have ever driven. I hope this forum will be as useful as the Volvo car forum and BMW bike forums I have used and contributed to for years.